Charlie Watts: Rolling Stones drummer dies – BBC News Review 2022

May 27, 2022



Newspapers in the UK and abroad have featured this story to pay their respects to Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones, who died at the age of 80. He had recently cancelled his appearance on a tour with the band.

Tom and Neil talk about the vocabulary from this story so you can talk about it too.

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Video chapters:
0:00​​​​​​​​​​ – Introduction
0:25 – Story
1:32 – Headline 1: Drummer Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones backbone, dies at 80
4:48 – Headline 2: Charlie Watts, ‘rock’ of the Rolling Stones, dies at 80
7:27 – Headline 3: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Pay Tribute to Charlie Watts: ‘Charlie Was a Rock’
10:07 – Language summary

The story:
His face is on the front pages of all the papers this morning, even the Financial Times finds room, and that’s because Charlie Watts, who died yesterday at the age of 80, was no ordinary drummer, keeping the beat for no ordinary band.

The Rolling Stones will live on, but something essential, something really fundamental to the sound they created, has gone.

Key words and phrases:

backbone
main support

* The workers are the real backbone of our company.
* Stop complaining about the issue and do something about it! Show some backbone!

rock
strong, reliable person

* You have been my rock during this difficult time.
* My husband is my rock in life.

pay tribute
honour someone or something

* World leaders have paid tribute to the former president.
* This song is a tribute to the most important man in my life.

To download the audio and a transcript and test your understanding, go https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-19/session-209

For more English videos and English lessons to help you learn English: www.bbclearningenglish.com

We like receiving and reading your comments – please use English when you comment.

#learnenglish #newsreview #rollingstones #charliewatts

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32 Comments
  1. BBC learning English is a sort of backbone program which improves my English skills day by day

  2. BBC Learning English is the rock of my English journey.

  3. Thanks for posting! If you have a minute, we posted some original blues tunes. As fellow music fans, we'd love if you would check it out. It's on our page. Don't be too tough on us 🙂

  4. For the second headline rock is also a pun because the ban is called the Rolling Stones but a rock is bigger than a stone so basically it means that he is the backbone. Greetings from Australia!

  5. You are incredibly perfect 💯 thank you for your very useful videos ✌🥰

  6. Reply
    ElFindelosTiempos May 27, 2022 at 7:17 am

    I have a question about the word rock. I remember two Michael Jackson songs: "Rock with you" and "You rock my world"… what it means that word in such context? Thank you very much.

  7. This is channel has been backbone for my listening skills and vocabulary as well.

  8. Completed 9/11/21

  9. Thanks so much for being the backbone of my English skills improvement!!! The BBC Learning English channel always rocks!

  10. Reply
    Dritter Weltkrieg May 27, 2022 at 7:17 am

    Hat er sich etwa impfen lassen????😵😵
    Did he take the Horror Vaccine? 😳😳

  11. What does ‘groove on down the page’ mean in 4:40?

  12. It is a so interesting lesson, thank you for making these chanel 🙂

  13. My favorite channel

  14. I am improving my english thank to this great programme

  15. Rock, in this instance, does NOT stand for strong or reliable! It stands for STABLE!

  16. BBC learning English!!?? The BBC acronym stands for BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation!

    Program is NOT BRITISH English! It's the American variant!

  17. Sorry to hear that!

    Still, 80 wasn't a bad age!

  18. Reply
    Frédéric LAMARRE May 27, 2022 at 7:17 am

    Videos of BBC LEARNING ENGLISH are the real backbone of my learning process in English. I pay tribute to the channel for this huge work. It's a precious help to improve my English skills.

  19. May he rest in peace. Amin..🙏🙏

  20. Reply
    Fumihiro Ishikawa May 27, 2022 at 7:17 am

    Charlie was a rock drummer generating on solid groove for HIS band. Thanks BBC for this issue !

  21. The news review improves my English a lot. Thanks very much.

  22. freedom fighters are the backbone of our country 🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

  23. freedom fighters are the backbone of our country 🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

  24. I very like the stoorees you prick too testes me English. 👍

  25. Thank you! That was quite a good lesson

  26. Love this

  27. Hi everyone, I cant approach to BBC Learning English website, the link doesnt work. Is the web under maintenance ?

  28. Reply
    6 PHÚT THỦ CÔNG May 27, 2022 at 7:17 am

    Học tiếng anh BBC rất hiệu quả, rất thích

  29. He was the backbone of this band Rollings, he had a great performance, a rock in the world of music, all bands should pay tribute him. Thanks guys of BBC for this topic.

  30. Thanks a million :)))

  31. Good job gays.All my best.

  32. Such a great legend.. If you have some doubts, just listen" 2000 light years from home" with a good pair of headphones and you will see what I'm talking about.

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